6.  The applicant was born in 1939 and lives in Batumi, Georgia.
7.  The applicant brought a civil action against a private person. On 21 November 2001 the Batumi City Court allowed his claim and ordered the debtor to pay him arrears in the amount of 2,000 United States dollars (1,595 euros (EUR)[1]) plus 100 Georgian laris ((GEL) – EUR 43.75[2]) for the costs and expenses associated with the court proceedings. The judgment was never appealed against and became binding.
8.  Since the debtor refused to abide by the judgment, the applicant applied to the Ministry of Justice of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic (“the AAR”), requesting the initiation of enforcement proceedings.
9.  In a letter of 27 November 2002, the Ministry informed the applicant that, pursuant to section 26 of the Enforcement Proceedings Act, he was to bear the “preliminary expenses associated with enforcement measures”. The letter, however, did not specify which measures were envisaged and what their costs were.
10.  Being in receipt of only a monthly pension of GEL 45 (EUR 19[3]) at the material time, the applicant was unable to pay for the initiation of enforcement proceedings. He appealed instead to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office of the AAR, requesting the initiation of criminal proceedings against the debtor (Article 381 of the Criminal Code) and the enforcement of the judgment, but to no avail. The authorities in question replied that it was beyond their competence to interfere with the judicial process.
11.  Three years later, on 20 January 2004, the applicant applied to the Ajarian Council of Ministers (the executive of the AAR). Explaining that, owing to his lack of means, he could not bear the expenses in advance, the applicant expressed his willingness to pay an enforcement fee after receiving the judgment debt.
12.  In its reply of 12 March 2004, the Ajarian Ministry of Justice noted that the debtor’s whereabouts were unknown. The Ministry reiterated that the non-payment of the preliminary expenses constituted “an impediment to the enforcement of the judgment”; provided that the applicant had covered the necessary expenses in advance, the bailiff would identify the debtor’s assets, seize them and put them up for auction. As to the enforcement fee of 7% of the judgment debt, the Ministry stated that this could be paid by the applicant after enforcement (section 113 (1) of the Enforcement Proceedings Act).
13.  As a result of the non-payment of the preliminary expenses, the judgment of 21 November 2001 still remains unenforced.
14.  The applicant was to inherit the apartment of his deceased brother, where relatives of his brother’s wife were dwelling. Before establishing his rights as an heir, the court satisfied the applicant’s request for interim measures by ordering the appropriate bailiff to attach the impugned apartment and make an inventory of the movable assets inside.
15.  After being recognised as the heir, the applicant brought a civil action against the relatives, claiming that they had misappropriated household belongings. After a series of remittals, on 3 September 2002 the Batumi City Court partly satisfied the applicant’s claim by ordering the respondents to return some of the belongings thus claimed.
16.  According to the case file, the judgment of 3 September 2002 was received by the applicant on 24 September 2002 (the receipt form being written in Georgian, a language not understood by the applicant). However, the applicant contends that he received the judgment on 3 October 2002, along with the relevant receipt form in Russian.
17.  On 28 October 2002 the applicant appealed against the judgment, and on 3 December 2002 he paid GEL 50 (EUR 21.88[4]) in court fees. On 15 November 2002, taking into consideration the receipt form of 24 September 2002, the appellate court dismissed the appeal as time-barred. On an unspecified date the court fees were returned to the applicant.
18.  The applicant applied to different judicial and administrative authorities, requesting an expert report on the authenticity of the receipt form dated 24 September 2002, but to no avail.
19.  In the course of divorce proceedings, the Batumi City Court established on 8 June 2001 that the two-room apartment where the applicant and his wife had been residing during their marriage was their common matrimonial property. Following the divorce, the court entitled the applicant’s former wife to a room in the disputed apartment. The applicant appealed against this decision, complaining, among other issues, that the case had been examined in his absence. On 16 August 2001 the appellate court, noting that the applicant’s representative had attended the hearing before the City Court, dismissed his appeal. The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the appellate court’s judgment on 1 February 2002.
20.  In the course of the enforcement of the decision of 8 June 2001, the applicant’s aunt was evicted from the room to which the applicant’s former spouse was entitled.
21.  In a decision of 28 October 1998, the Batumi City Court recognised the applicant as a victim of political repression and ordered his judicial rehabilitation. By virtue of a decree of the President of Georgia dated 1 January 1998, rehabilitated citizens of Georgia are entitled to certain welfare benefits. The applicant applied to different administrative authorities, claiming those benefits, but to no avail.